Mike Tyson: Back in Bit-ness, Part 1

This article was posted on January 14, 1999.

To the apparent delight of onlookers, Mike Tyson consigns this young boxing fan to a lifetime of intensive psychotherapy.

Don't say we didn't warn you. The publicly maligned Mike Tyson makes his return to professional boxing this Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Finally, the public's first opportunity in over a year to drop $50 on pay-per-view to watch Tyson enter a ring. That is if you don't count his mercifully brief stint as a so-called "special enforcer" and referee in a professional wrestling event in March.

As some may realize, this is the second big comeback fight in Tyson's 14-year professional career. The first time he returned from a significant lay-off was following his prison sentence for a rape conviction. In that return bout in August 1995, Tyson pounded a white pug into the rug in less than a round. His fight against the overmatched Peter McNeeley was shorter than the national anthem.

This time he returns from the 16-month suspension stemming from his June 1997 disqualification loss to heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield. No one could forget the damage Tyson delivered that night. Unfortunately for all involved, most of the pain Tyson inflicted didn't come from his gloves but from his teeth as he nibbled a chunk from the champ's ear.